Strangers, friends and family are remodeling Jesse Freeby's house to make it wheelchair accessible

DENNIS McCARTHY

MILWAUKIE -- Jesse Freeby never realized how many friends he has.
Not until about 60 people showed up at his Milwaukie home Monday morning -- ready to tear the place apart.

For those of you who cannot conceive of the US as a cruel country, read the tale of the young quadriplegic condemned to death for possessing marijuana. By Andrew Stephen

If you think that the number of law and order bills in Tuesday's Queen's Speech shows that Britain is becoming illiberal and authoritarian, you should look across the Atlantic. There you would see how bad it could be. I sometimes find it hard to describe to British friends just how galactically right-wing this country has become. They always insist that things cannot be as bad here as I say they are, that Britain is moving to the right too, that it is all just because of George W Bush. They have exactly the same reaction when I describe the US as a cruel and sentimental country, as I did in these columns not long ago: nowadays life in Britain, they say, is every bit as cruel as it is in the United States. In short, they do not want to see the negative sides of the US - or, for that matter, to acknowledge that positive aspects to Britain do still exist.

SEOUL : A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood.

Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an accident two decades ago.

Last week her eyes glistened with tears as she walked again with the help of a walking frame at a press conference where South Korea researchers went public for the first time with the results of their stem-cell therapy.

By Jon Fortt

KNIGHT RIDDER

Stephen Suer has a passion for books, scuba diving and road bikes: He's not your typical banker.

But his life changed on a bike ride near his Sacramento-area home in May when a van pulled in front of him, and Suer plowed into it. The impact demolished his chin and part of his nose, punctured both lungs, and injured his spinal cord -- rendering him unable to talk, walk or use his hands.

There are few controversies that polarize individuals as does the one surrounding stem cell research. I will attempt to take a very difficult subject and educate readers about it.

The human body is made of approximately 220 different types of cells. Each is the foundation for the development of all of our tissues and organs. Once these different cells develop into specific tissues and organs, we have an embryo.

Three-quarters of paralyzed spinal-cord injury patients suffer from persistent abnormal pain, according to a study released Friday.

A group of spinal cord injury patients and the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation carried out a survey on about 1,600 patients nationwide.

This is the first time a survey this large on the malady has been conducted in Japan.

By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

SEOUL -- South Korean researchers say they've used stem cell therapy to enable a paralyzed patient to walk after she was not even able to stand for the last 19 years.

By JOHN M. BRODER - New York Times

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26 - As California moves to begin a lushly financed program of embryonic stem cell research, medical ethicists and other skeptics are concerned that the $3 billion that state voters approved for the endeavor could become a bonanza for private profiteers.

Critics say the ballot measure that passed by a wide margin on Nov. 2 contains inadequate safeguards to ensure public oversight of the financial allocations and guarantee public benefit from any medical breakthroughs. They also worry that the promise of stem cell studies has been oversold to the public and say the money might better be directed to more mature medical technologies.

By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

A team of Korean researchers claimed Thursday they had performed a miracle by enabling a patient, who could not even stand up for the last 19 years, to walk with stem cell therapy.

During a press conference, the scientists said they had last month transplanted multi-potent stem cells from umbilical cord blood to the 37-year-old female patient suffering from a spinal cord injury and she can now walk on her own.

Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury Is 6 To 12 Percent

A young New Jersey woman paralyzed in a cheerleading accident fought to get back on her feet and NBC 10 News medical reporter Cherie Bank has her story of determination and hope.

Bridget Sheridan was a bright, beautiful 17-year-old girl with her whole life in front of her when a tragic accident happened and her life took a drastic detour.